Chautauqua Arts Education is gearing up for another exciting school year. It promises to be a year of growth, engaging in more schools, strengthening partnerships and impacting students more broadly and deeply than ever before. 

Resident Teaching Artist Stephanie Dawson has been hard at work, scheduling the Feelin’ the Beat school residency, a drumming program. Over the course of the school year, we will be welcoming four new schools to the program, expanding to two new Little Seeds Preschool locations in Sinclairville and Fredonia, and two new schools in Dunkirk, bringing the total number of schools served to 14 this year. Additionally, Ring Elementary in the Jamestown Public Schools, is hosting two residency cycles, serving double the number of students at their school. The focus of this program is to integrate music and social emotional learning, primarily for students with disabilities.  

The Professional Development for Teachers program, rooted in the Kennedy Center Partners in Education partnership that includes the Jamestown Public Schools and Chautauqua Lake Central Schools, is providing several workshops for teachers to develop arts integration strategies into their classrooms. These trainings provide teaching approaches that combine arts learning with core learning areas. As many as 300 teachers will be served in this program throughout the school year. 

We’re excited to share that the Young Playwrights Project will be serving 8 schools this year, adding Fletcher Elementary in the Jamestown Public Schools to the 7 who are already participating. Enthusiasm is very high for this program that teaches 3rd and 4th grade students how to write plays, empowering their creative voice and enhancing their English Language Arts skills. This program begins in January and culminates in June when students visit Chautauqua Institution to see a curated selection of student-written plays. 

Opera in the Schools returns in May. Young Artists from the Chautauqua Opera Company visit area schools, teaching a lesson in the classrooms followed by an opera performance specifically targeted to young audiences. The opera is selected to reinforce important themes that impact students, such as antibullying, celebrating differences or the challenges of growing up. This collaboration between Chautauqua Arts Education and Chautauqua Opera Company serves to support music learning standards and encourage students to envision themselves as artists by getting to know these amazing young vocalists. 

In June, we’ll host Explore Chautauqua Field Trips, providing students with a full Chautauqua experience in one day. Schools have been voicing a desire for their students to be exposed to “possibility.” These days are designed around Chautauqua’s four pillars — Education, the Arts, Religion, and Recreation — to encourage students to explore new ways to learn about their world and themselves. 

Stay tuned to learn more about each of these programs throughout the school year. To learn more, visit the Arts Education webpage , or to reach out to Director of Arts Education Suzanne Fassett-Wright and see how you can get involved!